By now, there’s a good chance that you’ve heard of the “Super Bowl Five,” a group of five gentlemen that form an extremely rare breed of football fan:

They’ve been to every single Super Bowl game.

Including today’s big game between the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., these five gentlemen — Larry McDonald, Lewis Rapaport, Harvey Rothenberg, Sylvan Schetler and Al Schragis (pictured above) — will have seen the biggest spectacle in sports 49 times.

Now that’s what I call one impressive sports feat.

On Saturday evening, the Redskins contingent attending this year’s Super Bowl — including team owner Dan Snyder, Robert Rothman and Fred Smith of the Redskins’ ownership group, and team President Bruce Allen — got a chance to meet the Super Bowl Five and snap a photo, which you can see above.

Hundreds of ecstatic Redskins fans packed into Lucky’s Pub near downtown Houston Saturday evening to rally the burgundy and gold to victory against the Texans in Sunday’s 2014 season opener.

The crowd was treated to appearances by Redskins owner Dan Snyder, President and general manager Bruce Allen and alums Ken Houston – a Hall of Famer — Ricky Sanders, Mike Thomas and Rick ‘Doc’ Walker.

Houston, one of the greatest backs in National Football League history, played with the Redskins from 1973 to 1980. Houston was elected to 12 Pro Bowls during his Hall of Fame career, when he intercepted 49 passes and logged 12 touchdowns.

Sanders, a two-time Super Bowl champion with the Redskins, was a wide receiver who played in D.C. from 1986 to 1993. Perhaps his greatest Redskins moment came on the biggest stage in Super Bowl XXII, when he caught nine passes for 193 yards and two touchdowns in Washington’s 42-10 victory over the Denver Broncos.

Thomas, a running back, played for the Redskins from 1975 to 1978. He was named the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year in 1975, and was a Pro Bowler the following season.

And Walker, a great Redskins tight end, played with the team from 1980 and 1985, winning a Super Bowl title with the team during the 1982 season. He is currently a fixture on the sidelines during each game for the Redskins Broadcast Network, and also co-hosts the daily show “Inside The Locker Room” on ESPN 980.

More than 400 free Redskins T-shirts were handed out at the event, as several lucky attendees also came away with some exclusive Redskins prizes, such as an autographed Robert Griffin III and Brian Orakpo jersey, signed photos from nose tackle Barry Cofield, Alfred Morris and DeAngelo Hall, a signed football from Pierre Garcon, a signed helmet from Ryan Kerrigan and several tickets to Sunday’s Redskins-Texans season opener at NRG Stadium.

]]>http://blog.redskins.com/2014/09/06/dan-snyder-redskins-alums-rally-with-fans-in-houston/feed/0awalkerredskinsJon Gruden: ‘How Can I Not Love The Redskins?’http://blog.redskins.com/2014/05/16/jon-gruden-how-can-i-not-love-the-redskins/
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Despite being an analyst for ESPN’s Monday Night Football and hosting his own television show each spring with NFL hopefuls, each telecasted to millions, it would have been understandable if Jon Gruden was nervous when he spoke to those in attendance at the 25th annual Burgundy and Gold Banquet. Joe Gibbs, three-time Super Bowl winner and founder and chairman of Youth For Tomorrow, accepted his Lifetime Achievement award just moments before he took center stage.

Big shoes to fill, right?

But he had no choke-ups. With former colleagues sitting just feet from the podium and his brother Jay, head coach of the Washington Redskins, looking on the former NFL coach was at ease.

And he let everyone know that he’s loves the burgundy and gold.

His intro was just spectacular. Turn up the volume, Redskins fans.

“I think we have something in common tonight—we all love the Washington Redskins, don’t we? Yes? Alright. My brother is the head football coach, how can I not love the Redskins? One of my best friends, Bruce Allen, is the general manager. Let’s hear it for Bruce. Hey, I grew up with Doug Williams. Let’s hear it for Doug. I mean when Joe Gibbs and Doug Williams left Tampa, a lot of people don’t know, Gibbs was the offensive coordinator of the Buccaneers in 1978, when [they] left Tampa we didn’t make a first down for nine years. Great to see you, Doug. Robert Griffin III, he was on my QB Camp show, Colt McCoy, had him as well [and Kirk] Cousins. Had them all. I’m a big Redskins fan, got a lot in common with you. Many of the coaches on this staff—[defensive backs coach] Raheem Morris, [offensive coordinator] Sean McVay, [director of football operations] Paul Kelly, [running backs coach] Randy Jordan, [wide receivers coach] Ike Hilliard—they were all on my staff. Let’s give the Redskins a hand. Let’s go Washington!

He also wanted to give his own testimony of the impact Gibbs has had and continues to have on his life and on those across the Washington, D.C. area.

“Joe Gibbs—let’s give him a hand one more time. This is a 215-acre facility. This is a residence for lost kids. They give them education, they give them counseling, and they don’t just give them education and counseling, they give them hall of fame coaching and care. As you think about our honoree tonight, Joe Gibbs, people associate him as a head coach of the Redskins; many people know he’s a NASCAR champion, but I associate coach Gibbs as one of the great offensive coaches in my lifetime. I used to steal the Washington Redskins’ beta tape in the early 1990’s as a younger receiver coach, and tried to steal his ideas. I didn’t do very well with that, by the way. But I got out of coaching and I got into broadcasting—it’s hard to make a first down in football, it’s hard to win a division, it’s hard to win a Super Bowl let alone three.

“Again, I am just mesmerized by your accomplishments and I congratulate you, coach. I love football and I love global franchises like the Redskins and I love football fans and I really love what coach Gibbs stands for. If I can be half of the man that he is, I’ll be very proud.”

Gruden and Allen each addressed the crowd before personally congratulating each member of the 2013 High School All-Metropolitan Football Team.

“Understand this: it doesn’t stop now,” Gruden said from the dais.

“It’s going to get harder for you. You go to the next level at college; it’s going to get harder. You gotta prepare yourself, you gotta work harder, you gotta study harder. Everything you gotta do better than you have already. But what a great tribute to you guys. I’m proud of you.”

Allen took the podium to compliment the athletes in attendance and introduce the city to its new head coach.

“I know some of you might have noticed our team didn’t do very well last year,” Allen said.

“We hired a new coach. We hired a coach who understood what football meant from the basics, who’s worked in several different leagues… I wanted his first event in Washington D.C. to be here with Lucille Hester.”

Hester, the president of the Pigskins Club, has known Allen since he was a child. She was friends with Allen’s father, Hall-of-Fame Redskins coach George Allen, and has chaperoned young athletes to training camps in Carlisle, Pa., Frostburg, Md., Loudoun County, Va., and Richmond, Va.

Allen said Hester asked him to bring Gruden to the event, and he’s never said no to her. D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray was also in attendance.

“Can you imagine when you think people are untouchable, and they are touchable, and they reach out to you?” Hester said. “It warms your heart.”

The Pigskins Club recognized charitable efforts by wide receiver Joshua Morgan and cornerback Josh Wilson with the John W. Posey Awards for outstanding professional athletes in the area.

Upon accepting the award, Morgan told the high schoolers to “dream bigger.”

“Do better than us,” Morgan said. “Our egos are not that big. We want to beat y’all if we play against y’all, but as we watch y’all grow, we want to see you do better than us.”

]]>http://blog.redskins.com/2014/01/27/jay-gruden-attends-first-dc-community-event-at-pigskins-club-banquet/feed/2hiattgjayfrontjayshakeWalk With Jay Gruden Through His First Day At Redskins Parkhttp://blog.redskins.com/2014/01/10/walk-with-jay-gruden-through-his-first-day-at-redskins-park/
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“You ready?”

The previous offensive coordinator of the Cincinnati Bengals stood in Daniel Snyder’s corner office at Redskins Park and answered the owner’s question. Three flat-screen televisions flashed football highlights.

Joey and Jack Gruden, the next line of a football family, shook hands with Snyder. J.J. Gruden was away at college. The boys wore ties to match their father, who chose a navy pinstriped suit, oxblood shoes and a white oxford shirt. His burgundy tie was adorned with white dots.

Three hours earlier he wore a gray Redskins sweatshirt and jeans to his first lunch at the facility’s dining hall, where they served chowder. When he was finished eating, Gruden walked out and stopped in an adjacent hallway. He paused to read the ‘60s section of a historic photo mural, eyeing pictures of Sam Huff and Bobby Mitchell.

Back in Snyder’s office, he joked with Jack about his grades. He made small talk with his new boss while Sherry Gruden and Tanya Snyder exchanged pleasantries.

Pierre Garçon’s face flashed on ESPN. The receiver with the big dimples smiled and answered a question.

Sherry and the boys toured a high school in Ashburn and met the football coach. It was an exciting day.

Gruden exited into the hallway, taking his first steps toward turning around a football team.

Executive Vice President/General Manager Bruce Allen met Gruden near the coach’s quarters, right under the painting of John Riggins dragging Miami Dolphins defensive back Don McNeal. Earlier in the day, Gruden ascended the stairs from lunch and requested directions to his office.

Gruden adjusted his necktie and chuckled with Allen as the two prepared to enter the auditorium and explain Gruden’s appointment as head coach.

Seven photographers readied to shoot stills while 16 video cameras pointed at the doors at the back right corner of the room.

Gruden emerged ahead of Allen and Senior Vice President of Communications Tony Wyllie, who welcomed the crowd and asked that they silence their cell phones.

“We were looking for a new leader, somebody who can inspire our football team,” Allen said.

“We knew it was more than just X’s and O’s. It was about finding the right person to build the team chemistry that we needed. We needed someone who would be a good teammate to the coaches, the organization and the players in the locker room, and through this search, we kept looking for that leader and teacher.

“I really come back to one of the greatest quotes I know in sports or life that former Washington Redskins coach Marv Levy, who is in the Hall of Fame, who said, ‘Where would you rather be than right here, right now?’

“And that quote really is what we are looking for – someone who had the fire in his belly to come and lead the Washington Redskins this season. I’d like to introduce to everybody the new head coach of the Washington Redskins, Mr. Jay Gruden.”

Applause and a press conference.

Gruden answered questions. He was focused on Cincinnati last year. He wasn’t sure what happened in Washington.

After about 17 minutes of questions, Gruden handled a Redskins helmet and posed for pictures with Allen in front of a squirming bubble of camera people. Allen broke off to provide individual answers, and the bubble surrounded him.

Three men waited for Gruden in a radio studio. The coach slipped on a pair of headphones stuck with a piece of white tape reading “H3” in black marker.

Gruden cracked a joke and showed a grin that could gape or spread as a subtle horizontal crease in his cheeks.

Chris Cooley held the bottom of his left foot in his right hand and asked Gruden how he would go about getting to know his players. Would he let them wear ‘80s rocker shorts like Jim Zorn did? Would he maintain a stricter workplace like Joe Gibbs?

Gruden said he would accept players as they are, “but you have to have rules.”

Making his way to the team’s television studio, Gruden bumped into running back Chris Thompson.

“Florida State,” the coach knew.

“You healthy? Good.”

Comcast Sports Net anchor Chick Hernandez sat in a director’s chair.

“Holly Lolly,” Hernandez said, testing the microphones as Gruden sat in an identical chair and tested his mic.

“Test. Test. One, two, three.”

The broadcast went live. Hernandez asked Gruden about a hectic 48 hours.

As new Redskins Head Coach Jay Gruden and Executive Vice President/General Manager Bruce Allen demonstrated Thursday night, it’s never a bad move to begin with a thank you.

Some of the classiest moves in a classy day for Gruden were the thank yous he delivered to his blood relations, football family and the center circle of that venn diagram.

Gruden began his statement with a shout out to wife Sherry, sons Joey, Jack and J.J. and mom Kathy, “the toughest Gruden of them all.” He thanked his dad Jim, whom he called a “football coach, a football man, a football person,” and, his brother Jim, who “taught me there’s things other than football that are important.”

The new coach thanked his older brother Jon, who gave him his first NFL job with the 2002 Super Bowl champion Buccaneers.

“I wouldn’t be sitting here today without learning everything that I know about football from him,” Gruden said. “What a great brother. What a great person. What a great football coach.”

After appreciating his family, Gruden shifted gears to Cincinnati and an organization that hired him as a UFL coach.

“I’d like to thank Mike Brown and Marvin Lewis for giving me the opportunity to be the offensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals,” Gruden said.

“They took a chance on me. We had some great seasons there. Unfortunately we didn’t win in the playoffs, but we had some great seasons there and it was a great opportunity to for me. I’d like to thank the Bengal coaching staff and of course the Bengal players for their commitment to coming to work every day and their commitment to excellence in trying to get better every day.”

Lastly, Gruden thanked owner Daniel Snyder and Bruce Allen, who earlier drew laughs with a pointed gratification of his own.

“Fortunately for us, the San Diego Chargers beat the Cincinnati Bengals, and we were able to bring Jay in.”

Bruce Allen didn’t mind answering the phone in the middle of the night.

The Redskins Executive Vice President/General Manager said he received calls at “all hours of the evening” from coaches looking to praise the man sitting to his right inside the auditorium at Redskins Park.

The team’s new teacher accepted a round of applause before thanking his family. Gruden thanked Marvin Lewis, Mike Brown and all the Cincinnati Bengals, then showed his appreciation for Redskins owner Daniel Snyder and Allen.

For about 45 minutes, he fielded questions about reviewing the assets he has in Washington, his impressions of quarterback Robert Griffin III and if he favors a 3-4 or a 4-3 defense. Gruden talked about his history with Allen, picking a coaching staff and much more.

Watch the full press conference below and follow the Redskins on Twitter and Instagram for breaking news as Gruden hires his staff.

Cowher told “CBS This Morning” he’s open to coaching in the future but all but ruled himself out of contention for jobs this year.

“I’ve never closed the door,” Cowher said via Pro Football Talk. “But it’s highly unlikely any time in the near future you’ll see me coach.”

Personally, it’s tough to picture Cowher coaching a team outside of Pittsburgh, where he was born in 1957. Over the course of 15 seasons Cowher coached the Steelers for 161 wins and two Super Bowl appearances.

You can see his connection to the city in this 1996 pregame segment from Super Bowl XXX.

Cowher’s language indicates he hasn’t given up on coaching again, but he must be comfortable as a part of the CBS panel on “The NFL Today.”

Allen said the franchise would try to act swiftly enough to get its man but slowly enough to properly judge candidates. The executive said the team would keep its interviewees close to the vest.

“Because of league rules, we’re not going to try and publicize who we’re going to try and talk to,” Allen said.

“It really is an open list. It will have NFL coaches, it will have college coaches on it. Some have head coaching experience, some don’t, and I’m really looking forward to meeting some of the people who I haven’t met yet.”

To be clear, this post is no endorsement of any men on the list. I have no knowledge of whom the Redskins plan to interview, but I am interested in one senior reporter’s opinion of who would be a good fit.

Allen stressed that that every member of the organization had a part in a 3-13 season. He spoke to the media about how the franchise has begun its search for a new head coach, what the criteria for that position will be and what the club will learn from a regular season full of distractions.

He talked about how the world of sports lends itself to instant evaluation, how to create stability and how NFL teams can complete quick turnarounds.

Watch video of the full press conference below and follow @Redskins for breaking news.